Known in the art of sky diving simulators are two types of designs for vertical wind tunnels. The first type of sky diving simulator is the enclosed circulating wind tunnel. The person levitating in the air column is enclosed in a cylindrical enclosure that allows air to pass through. The wind is generated by a motor and fan and the moving air is circulated in an enclosed loop. The second type of vertical wind tunnel used in a sky dive simulator is the open-air wind column, which levitates a person over a rotating fan. A steel mesh screen is placed between the fan and the flyer so that the flyer does not fall into the rotating blades of the fan. The wind is of sufficient force to levitate a human and is not circulated, but allowed to dissipate into the atmosphere.
While vertical wind tunnels capable of levitating humans are known in the art, these vertical wind tunnels are limited to a flying area of between six feet to fourteen feet in diameter. The present invention relates to a new combination of multiple vertical wind tunnel modular units linked together in tandem to form an expansive flying arena. A single vertical wind tunnel modular unit is capable of generating a vertical wind column of about ten feet in diameter. Any number of vertical wind tunnel units can be conjoined in tandem to form a flying area of indeterminate length.
Vertical wind tunnels capable of levitating humans in mid air have not been combined with a field goal target system for playing competitive sports in the wind column. The present invention utilizes a field goal target system that is suspended twenty feet above the flying arena. The field goal target system has a backboard with an activation button in the middle. When a thrown ball successfully strikes the activation button, the force of the thrown projectile will activate a Tesla coil which discharges bolts of electricity into the air. The activation button can alternatively be connected to a flamethrower, that when activated will cause the discharge of a fireball into the atmosphere, thus registering a successful field goal.
Vertical wind tunnels are primarily designed to train skydivers and to simulate a skydiving experience. The present invention significantly improves the utility and entertainment value of vertical wind tunnels. The present invention comprises a new tandem array to create a longer and more expansive flying area. The wind tunnel sports arena includes the innovation of a field goal target system that registers a successful field goal with the eruption of a pyrotechnic fireball or an electrical discharge from a Tesla coil.